Alekna follows famous father
Olympic favorite breaks German ancient world record
April 15, 2024, 11:20 a.m
The oldest men’s world record in athletics has been broken: the German Jürgen Schult held it for almost 38 years in the discus throw. Now comes a 21-year-old with a last name that stands for elite: Mykolas Alekna. The Lithuanian also trumps his famous father.
The Lithuanian Mykolas Alekna set a discus world record with 74.35 meters, surpassing Jürgen Schult’s almost 38-year-old record. The Schweriner threw the disc at 74.08 meters for the GDR on June 6, 1986 in Neubrandenburg. The value has stood ever since; it was the longest-standing world record for men: second place goes to the long jump mark of the American Jesse Owens, which remained unbeaten for 25 years from 1935 to 1960.
European champion Alekna managed a fabulous series of throws of more than 70 meters each in perfect conditions in Ramona, Oklahoma. Alekna, who is studying in California, set the record in his fifth attempt. According to the World Athletics Association, 74.41 meters were initially measured, the width was then corrected downwards by six centimeters and has yet to be officially recognized as a record.
“I had 38 years to prepare and now the time has come,” said Schult and congratulated his successor. “It’s definitely not a disappointment, but rather a joy that someone is throwing so far again,” emphasized the 63-year-old. “I’m proud to have had this for a while and to pass the baton.” He recalled that over the decades, German discus aces like Lars Riedel or Robert Harting had never been lucky enough to catch such a long throw.
“I’m in shock”
“I’m still a little in shock, it’s hard to understand what I did,” Alekna said on Lithuanian radio. But the world record was not his goal. “Gold at the Olympics is the goal this season. That’s what I’m more focused on.”
The 21-year-old Alekna is the top favorite for the Olympic Games in Paris, two months before the European Championships in Rome at the beginning of June. The 2022 World Cup runner-up and 2023 World Cup third place is the son of Virgilijus Alekna, who was Olympic champion in 2000 and 2004 and also won two World Cup titles. His best performance was 73.88 meters, which puts him in third place on the all-time best list.
At the meeting in Ramona on Saturday, Cuban Yaime Perez achieved the longest throw for women since 1989 with 73.09 meters. Gabriele Reinsch from Cottbus has held the world record since July 9, 1988, when she achieved 76.80 meters in Neubrandenburg.